>> Wednesday, February 13, 2013

For cat lovers everywhere, this sweet, quirky, and delightful romance is about a young woman and her matchmaking cat. A little bit of mystery, a whole lot of whimsy.

Melody's husband was murdered by what seemed a random act of violence. Two years later, the killer hasn't been caught, and Melody is coping in unhealthy ways. During the day she's a mild-mannered children's librarian, but at night she's a party girl, hanging out in bars, drinking with new friends, and often bringing home strange men. Although acquaintances have tried to keep in touch, Melody has cut herself off from most of the people in her old life. Max, her eccentric cat, doesn't approve of her new friends, he's tired of the parade of losers, and he finally takes it upon himself to find Melody a new man.

Max the cat is worried about his human. Melanie lost her cop husband a couple of years earlier, when he was the victim of a shooting, and she's still not doing well. She keeps drinking that smelly liquid and then she brings home men who Max knows are just not right for her (or for him!). Well, if she wants a man, he'll find her one.

It first looks as if Max got it right on his first go. Joe is nice, and he and Melanie seem to like each other just fine. But then Max finds a gun in his backpack...

So, let's get this out of the way: big sections of this book are narrated by Max. And you know what? They're what makes this book worth reading.

The romance itself is nice enough. Melanie and Joe are good together, and the conflict is understandable and believable. However, the relationship is not hugely developed. We stay very much on the surface, and on a normal book, this would mean a mediocre romance.

The fact that it isn't mediocre and I enjoyed it quite a bit is all about Max's contributions. The sections narrated from his point of view are a hoot. Weir gets his voice spot-on. He's a very clever cat, but he's still very much a cat, and that's reflected in how he thinks, and what he thinks about. I'm sure every cat owner has at some point wondered what's going on inside those little heads, and I wouldn't be too surprised if turned out it's something like what's going on inside Max's!

I have to say, though, some of these sections skating the line between cute and cutesy, but on the whole, Weir does well in staying on the right side of that line.